Back in 1994, my inquiry into the claims of the Catholic Church took a decisive turn. I transitioned from reading books in the safety of my own home to visiting actual parishes and signing up for RCIA. At this point, …
Category: Catholicism 101
Calling Out Sin and the True Meaning of Mercy
A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he …
Why Viganò’s Critique of the Council Must Be Taken Seriously
Is the recent “attack” on Vatican II a “crisis moment” for traditionalists? Are we turning on a legitimate and laudable Council instead of rightly directing our ire at the inept leadership that has followed it and betrayed it? That has …
The Holy Spirit of Pentecost and Christ the King
At the Pentecost Octave, the Church celebrates an end and a beginning. It is the close of the Paschal cycle, which celebrates the close of the Old Covenant. This is the beginning of the Time after Pentecost, celebrating the birth …
Even the Realist Needs Hope
Blind optimism and bleak pessimism both inflict havoc. An optimist opens the windows of the Church to the world to allow in the “fresh” air. As the stench and filth of the world choke out the life of the Church, …
Can Doctrine Change? It Depends on Your Perspective
This is the second of two related articles on whether doctrine can change. In the second, we explore doctrine in the broad sense, as “Church teaching.” Can doctrine change? Depending on whom you ask, you will get a different answer. …
Can Doctrine Change? Not Strictly
This is the first of two related articles on whether doctrine can change. In the first, we examine doctrine from the strict point of view, side by side with dogma. What does the Church really teach? Since Pope John Paul …
The Catholic View: We’re All Guilty, and We All Must Suffer
The pandemic pandemonium of the coronavirus — in its volatile mixture of undeniable physical evils and the superimposed moral evils of social engineering by political elites only too happy to take advantage of a global train wreck — has brought …
In Response to Outgrowing God by Richard Dawkins
Professor Richard Dawkins’s latest book is entitled Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. It is divided into two parts, the first being, after a fashion, theological, and the second claiming to be biological and scientific. In the theological section, the author …
The Nostalgic Imaginary Past of the Traditional Latin Mass?
“Mom, why are you cutting a piece of the roast off?” asks a little girl, watching her mother place a roast beef into a roasting pan. “Because that’s what my mom did.” “Grandma,” asks the girl later, “why did you …